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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29020992">Please... Hang on</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourjisoos/pseuds/ourjisoos'>ourjisoos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Dark, Death, Sad, Tragedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:54:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,314</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29020992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourjisoos/pseuds/ourjisoos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A ransom at first turns deadly when the boys are forced to serve the mafia. Will they survive?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN Ensemble/Everyone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. the chaos begins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hyung, try to project your voice more and don't start before the beat." </p>
<p>Jeonghan ran his hands through his hair. It was his sixth take for this line, but he was determined to get it right this time. </p>
<p>The other members watched him in anticipation, feeling just as confident that he would succeed.</p>
<p>"Okay, from the same spot" said Jihoon.</p>
<p>The smile on his face grew as Jeonghan delivered the line just how he wanted it. </p>
<p>"That one was great, hyung! All right who's next?"</p>
<p>"Me me me!"</p>
<p>"Ok Chan, go on in." </p>
<p>It was a completely normal day in the Pledis building.  </p>
<p>They were recording and preparing for another comeback. </p>
<p>After Chan had finished his recording, everyone decided to go get lunch as they had been recording since the early morning and were a bit out of it.</p>
<p>"Aren't you coming, Chan?" asked Hansol.</p>
<p>"You go on ahead, I will practice a little more."</p>
<p>Hansol chucked and left with the others, the maknae's passion never failed to be endearing.</p>
<p>Chan practiced his lines for a few minutes in the recording room, and when he felt satisfied with himself, he took off his headphones only to hear the sound of glass breaking.</p>
<p>Chan hurried out of the studio and found a window that was completely shattered with a brick on the ground.</p>
<p>Chan picked up the brick and immediately dropped it and gasped in horror as he noticed the fresh blood stains on it.</p>
<p>He felt his heart race and he quickly gathered his things and made his way to where the others were.</p>
<p>The hallways were eerily empty and quiet, as they would usually be filled with the sounds of staff, managers, or other artists.</p>
<p>He didn't dwell on it for too long as he sped over to the elevators. </p>
<p>But before he could make it, a strong pair of hands grabbed him from behind and pushed him against the wall.</p>
<p>He screamed and when he was turned around his eyes widened as a man approached him, a crowbar raised high above his head.</p>
<p>He could barley process what was happenening when he felt an imense pain in the side of his head, a warm fluid trickled down his face and Chan blacked out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>Hansol, Mingyu and Minghao returned from their lunch break.</p>
<p>They saw the other members who had bought takeout eating in the lobby.</p>
<p>"Has Chan come down yet?" asked Hansol.</p>
<p>"I thought he went with you guys" said Jihoon.</p>
<p>"He didn't. He said he wanted to practice more."</p>
<p>"I'll go check on him" said Jeonghan.</p>
<p>Hansol walked closely behind him. He had a gut feeling that something wasn't right but none of the other members seemed to think anything was off.</p>
<p>Jeonghan saw the visible distress on Hansol's face.</p>
<p>"Hey, don't overthink it. We probably missed him coming down, or he might have found something to eat in the studio."</p>
<p>"Yeah, you're probably right." But the unsettling feeling persisted. </p>
<p>When they reached the seventh floor, they got out and instantly felt the atmosphere change.</p>
<p>They hadn't seen anything yet, but both of them felt something was very off.</p>
<p>"Chan, you here?" Jeonghan called for Chan in the studio but he was nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>Just then, the door to the studio slammed shut.</p>
<p>"Shit, someone locked us in" said Hansol tugging on the door.</p>
<p>They tried to call the other members but they couldn't get a signal.</p>
<p>"What on earth is going on?" Jeonghan paced around the room, both of them were panicking now.</p>
<p>Suddenly, a gunshot was heard.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Seokmin!" </p>
<p>The boys rushed over to his side, he laid there motionless and covered in blood, a deep bullet wound in his back.</p>
<p>It was so sudden, nothing they could have foreseen, it didn't make sense.</p>
<p>"Why can't I get a signal?" Seungcheol tried to call an ambulance but his phone nor any of the boys' phones were working.</p>
<p>"Seokmin, open your eyes!" screamed Soonyoung who was a sobbing mess.</p>
<p>Joshua pressed his sweater harder against the wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.</p>
<p>From the distance they could hear men shouting.</p>
<p>"You idiot! How are we supposed to get the money if he's dead?!"</p>
<p>They saw two men emerge, one was glaring at the other who was looking quite sheepish.</p>
<p>"But Sir said—"</p>
<p>"Shut up!" he fired his gun and the other man was dead on the ground.</p>
<p>The boys all froze and waited to see what the man would do.</p>
<p>He did a head count, as if he was counting his money, a smirk appearing on his face.</p>
<p>"Perfect, we have two up there, ten here, and one" he scoffed, "well you'll see."</p>
<p>"What have you done with them?" Seungcheol stood up, trying his best to look brave although he was shaking.</p>
<p>"You don't need to worry about that, we prefer to have them alive as they will be useless if they're dead."</p>
<p>Seungcheol clenched his fists, it made him beyond angry to hear him talk about his friends like that.</p>
<p>About twenty more men entered the lobby and held the boys down. Some tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered and the men were all extremely strong.</p>
<p>Seokmin was dragged away and all the boys cried in horror, not knowing if they're friend was alive or not.</p>
<p>"Now that I have your attention, I will tell you now. Your CEO has been notified and we are waiting on him to pay the ransom. Once we get our money, you will be released."</p>
<p>The boys were somewhat relieved that they didn't intend to kill them, but were still worried about the state of their friends.</p>
<p>They were moved to the basement, where each of them were tied up and shoved into a small dimly lit room.</p>
<p>"Jeonghan! Hansol!" they immediately went over to their two friends, relieved to see them mostly unharmed.</p>
<p>"Where's Seokmin and Chan?" asked Jeonghan.</p>
<p>"We don't know where Chan is, and Seokmin..."</p>
<p>"Where is he?!"</p>
<p>"He was shot" Wonwoo answered with a shaky voice.</p>
<p>"Is he alive?" asked Hansol.</p>
<p>"We don't know, he was unconscious but I could still feel a pulse before he was dragged away."</p>
<p>Several hours had gone by, the boys all sat in silence, huddled up and arms wrapped around each other, trying to stay optimistic and await their release.</p>
<p>Suddenly the door swung open and revealed a stocky looking man dressed in all black.</p>
<p>"Change of plans, you guys are coming with us."</p>
<p>They boys looked at him in confusion.</p>
<p>"What do you mean? I thought we were being released after our CEO paid the ransom?" asked Seungcheol.</p>
<p>"Like I said, there's been a change of plans." </p>
<p>A group of men dressed in the same uniform then came in and ushered them to their feet and shoved them into a black van.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. our dear brother</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>About two hours later, the thirteen frightened boys arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse.</p>
<p>The two vans pulled up and they were once again shoved to their feet.</p>
<p>Seungcheol looked around, scanning his member's terrified faces.</p>
<p>He then examined his surroundings. They were in a remote rural area that seemed almost uninhabited except for the tiny farms that you could just barely see in the distance.</p>
<p>The boys were brought inside the warehouse that just reeked of metal.</p>
<p>From behind a door emerged a man, he wasn't quite as buff as the others but his something about his demeanor made him much more intimidating.</p>
<p>He counted the boys in front of him and grinned in satisfaction.</p>
<p>"Perfect, all of you are here."</p>
<p>"Where is Seokmin and Chan?" asked Jeonghan.</p>
<p>"You will see them soon, that is, if they make it until then."</p>
<p>That statement made the boy's heart's drop.</p>
<p>Seungcheol tried to be the brave one once again. "Why have you brought us here?"</p>
<p>"From now on, you will be serving me and my mafia. And if you even think about fighting back or trying to escape, well, I think you're aware of the consequences."</p>
<p>All the boys froze. What did that mean for them? Serving the mafia? It would have been a laughable statement if the circumstances weren't what they were. </p>
<p>"You may call me Kim Sunghoon, and you will follow my every order if you wish to live."</p>
<p>Just then another man emerged from behind the same door.</p>
<p>"Sir, everything is ready."</p>
<p>"Show them to the basement, we will begin training tomorrow morning."</p>
<p>The boys were brought through the door and down a flight of stairs to basement where they were untied. None of them dared to try anything as each man that followed behind them wielded a gun big enough to take three of them out at once.</p>
<p>They were shown the shooting arena, the gym, the weapons room, and finally their sleeping area.</p>
<p>Six beds were lined up on each side of the room, with two bathrooms at the far end. It definitely looked like a military boarding school.</p>
<p>When they spotted who was sleeping on one of the beds, they immediately rushed over.</p>
<p>"Chan!" Hansol exclaimed.</p>
<p>Chan slowly opened his eyes and gasped in surprise when he saw his eleven brothers crowding around him.</p>
<p>"Oh Channie, what have they done to you?" Jeonghan put a hand on Chan's head</p>
<p>There was a huge gash on the side of his head that was poorly bandaged, his jaw seemed to be bruised badly, and numerous cuts and scrapes covered his body.</p>
<p>Chan teared up. "I thought I would never see you guys again." He was quickly enveloped into a twelve way hug, feeling the familiar warmth that he missed.</p>
<p>But then he realized something and pulled back from the hug.</p>
<p>"Where's Seokmin hyung?"</p>
<p>The members all looked at each other with nervous expressions.</p>
<p>"Chan-ah..." Wonwoo began, "Please don't freak out."</p>
<p>"What? What happened?"</p>
<p>"He... he was shot."</p>
<p>Chan started crying again. "W-what?"</p>
<p>"He is alive though, we just don't know where he is. Don't worry Chan, he'll be okay." Seungcheol tried to comfort him as well as everyone else. But for some reason he couldn't help but feel like he wasn't telling the truth.</p>
<p>"What are we going to do? Do we really have to do what he says?" asked Mingyu.</p>
<p>"It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice. Why don't we just get some rest for now?" Everyone nodded at the leader.</p>
<p>But of course nobody could sleep.</p>
<p>They were in an unknown location being held hostage by a mafia, as well as not knowing if their friend is alive or not. It was certainly a restless night.</p>
<p>But soon enough fatigue would take over and eventually everyone went to sleep.</p>
<p>Everyone except Chan.</p>
<p>He knew it would be foolish and dangerous but he couldn't bare to stay in that room any longer.</p>
<p>He made his way to the door and left as quietly as possible.</p>
<p>His heart pounded in his chest as he wandered through the grim looking hallways.</p>
<p>Suddenly he heard a nearby door opening and voices emerging from behind it. </p>
<p>He quickly went inside an empty room, praying to God that the two men would not be entering it.</p>
<p>When he heard what they were talking about his heart almost stopped. </p>
<p>"Yeah he won't make to morning, we should've just thrown out his body instead of keeping him here."</p>
<p>"Should we let his friends see him one last time?"</p>
<p>"Since when did you grow a conscience? You're not getting paid for sentiment, just focus on your job."</p>
<p>Chan knew that they were talking about Seokmin, and he wanted to burst out sobbing right then and there.</p>
<p>But he tried to keep his calm as best as he could until the coast was clear.</p>
<p>Once he made sure that no one was in the hallway, he came out and went over to the room that the two men had came from.</p>
<p>When he saw his hyung lying motionless on the bed he almost couldn't bear it.</p>
<p>"H-hyung" Chan's voice broke, his eyes were immediately filled with tears.</p>
<p>When Seokmin didn't give a reaction Chan began to shake him.</p>
<p>"Hyung, please, open your eyes."</p>
<p>After a few seconds Seokmin did open his eyes and look at him.</p>
<p>They looked dazed and expressionless, like he had given up, like he knew that he wouldn't live much longer.</p>
<p>"Chan, where are we?" he asked weakly.</p>
<p>"I don't know, but we will get out of here, all of us. We will all leave this place and everything will go b-"</p>
<p>"No Chan" he said.</p>
<p>"W-what?"</p>
<p>"I won't make it."</p>
<p>"Don't say that!" Chan was getting desperate. </p>
<p>"Chan, I'm dying. I can feel it."</p>
<p>"No! You're going to be fine, you're going to live."</p>
<p>"Chan?"</p>
<p>Chan heard another voice. He turned around and saw Hansol standing at the doorway, it was clear he had followed him.</p>
<p>When Hansol saw Seokmin he got extremely worried.</p>
<p>"Hyung..."</p>
<p>Seokmin smiled at both of them and it tore them apart.</p>
<p>"Please, take care of yourselves. I don't know what situation exactly we're in, but I do know that you guys have to be strong. I'm sorry I won't be there with you guys, but I know you will get out, you will live."</p>
<p>And with that last word Seokmin's eyes closed and his breathing stilled.</p>
<p>"No..." Chan squeezed his hand tightly, "No!"</p>
<p>Hansol who literally never cried broke into tears immediately, laying his head on his friend's chest, hearing the last few beats of his heart.</p>
<p>They stayed there until dawn, until a tiny sliver of sunlight peeked into the room through the ceiling.</p>
<p>They looked at Seokmin one last time and then looked at each other and embraced one another in a tight hug.</p>
<p>"Chan-ah" Hansol said pulling back from the hug, "No matter what, we must live."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. a new reality</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the other members learned about Seokmin, all hell broke loose.</p><p>They were screaming and crying and hurting everywhere, it was a heart-wrenching scene to witness.</p><p>Interrupting them was the sound of the door opening where several of the men they saw yesterday emerged.</p><p>They handed each person a portion of food which consisted of canned meat and vegetables.</p><p>"Hurry up and eat, you're getting trained in 10."</p><p>Despite their grief, the boys decided to eat as they knew they would need the energy.</p><p>But Minghao did not move, he sat against the wall and refused to touch his food.</p><p>"Eat you little bitch!" one of the men shouted at him.</p><p>Jun was concerned for Minghao and moved closer to him. "Minghao, just eat, you need it."</p><p>But still Minghao did not budge. He looked pale and sickly, his eyes glued to the ground.</p><p>"That's how you're gonna be huh?" Two of the men grabbed onto Minghao and essentially tried to force feed him. Other boys looked in horror, feeling completely helpless that they couldn't do anything. </p><p>When they finally forced the food down Minghao looked even worse than before. He couldn't keep it down and immediately went to bathroom and threw everything up.</p><p>"Go to the shooting range all of you." </p><p>"Minghao..." everyone was worried about him.</p><p>"It's okay, let's just go."</p><p>When they got to the shooting range, Sunghoon handed each of them a handgun and showed them how to maneuver it.</p><p>Whilst they were taking shots at the targets on the far wall, Mingyu was eyeing Sunghoon in the corner of his eye.</p><p>He noticed that the other men had left and it was just Sunghoon alone behind them, it was the perfect opportunity.</p><p>His hands were shaking but he mustered up the courage. He counted down in his head and in an instant fired his gun as Sunghoon.</p><p>But he wasn't a mafia leader for nothing. Sunghoon easily dodged the bullet, it seemed as if he was expecting it.</p><p>"You have quite the guts huh?" he said in a menacing tone as he walked over. Mingyu immediately regretted his actions and feared the worst.</p><p>"What did I say about fighting back?" Sunghoon took out his own gun from his pocket and slammed the back of it into Mingyu's head, knocking him out instantly. </p><p>"Mingyu!" the others screamed.</p><p>The other men took Mingyu away.</p><p>"Let this be an incentive for you all. One more person rebels and he will die as well."</p><p>The boys now realized that they had no other choice, they had to obey now. Their friend's life depended on it.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>The following week was rough. </p><p>The boys were trained every waking hour in weapons, fighting, and hacking.</p><p>They were now training in the gym when Joshua noticed that Minghao looked rather tired.</p><p>"Hey, are you alright?" he asked him. He was quite worried about him because Minghao had hardly eaten anything since they arrived there. And when he did eat he would immediately throw it back up. The already lithe boy was looking more thin and sickly than ever.</p><p>Of course all of them were still grieving about Seokmin, but Minghao seemed to be the most physically affected.</p><p>"Hyung, I'm just really... tired."</p><p>"Come on, you need to rest." </p><p>Joshua brought him to their sleeping area and told him to lie down. </p><p>"But hyung what if-"</p><p>"It'll be okay Minghao, just please try to sleep" Joshua tried to keep him calm, knowing his constant nausea had to do with anxiety.</p><p>Minghao nodded and fell asleep very quickly.</p><p>Joshua looked to his dongsaeng before leaving the room. "You're going to be okay."</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>The following day the boys were assigned their first task by Sunghoon.</p><p>"You will be sent to a nightclub in Gangseo. Our hacker discovered that one of our enemy gangs is expecting a new recruit, and they will be meeting there where they'll be discussing some important details that will be very useful to us. Two of you will be in charge of taking out the real recruit whilst one of you go meets the leader pretending to be them. You will record the conversation and report back immediately. Our cars will be surrounding the entire club so don't even think about running away."</p><p>Sunghoon eyed the boys deciding who he should send for the task.</p><p>"You" he pointed at Jeonghan "you will be the fake recruit, and you two will immobilize the real recruit" he said pointing at Wonwoo and Soonyoung.</p><p>"Wear this" he tossed Jeonghan a white dress shirt and a black jacket.</p><p>"Hurry up and get ready, they'll be waiting out back" and with that Sunghoon left the boys alone.</p><p>The three that were assigned looked at each other, clearly nervous about what they were supposed to do.</p><p>"Remember guys, we have to do this for Mingyu" Jeonghan told them.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>The three of them arrived at the nightclub, with Soonyoung and Wonwoo in one car and Jeonghan in another.</p><p>"Enter through that door and go to the lounge on the third floor" the driver told him.</p><p>Jeonghan took a deep breath, read over his notes and switched on the recording device in his pant pocket. </p><p>Soonyoung and Wonwoo waited outside for when the recruit arrives. </p><p>"Wonwoo, is that them?"</p><p>Wonwoo read the license plate again. "Yes."</p><p>They watched as the stocky young man exited the car and made his way towards the club.</p><p>Soonyoung quickly grabbed him and pushed him into the back alley away from public eyes.</p><p>The man was strong and Soonyoung almost lost his hold but Wonwoo came from behind and knocked him to the ground. </p><p>The man layed motionless on the ground.</p><p>"Where are the ropes?"</p><p>"I've got em" Soonyoung handed Wonwoo the nylon ropes and they tied up the man.</p><p>Jeonghan entered the club and his anxiety increased exponentially.</p><p>This was no ordinary nightclub. It was far more grim and unruly.</p><p>It reeked of alcohol and weed. All around people were behaving in the most unseemly of ways, it looked like an absolute disaster.</p><p>Jeonghan tried to avoid eye contact with every person and just focused on finding the staircase.</p><p>But before he could reach it, a tall lanky man with a ghastly odor stood in his way.</p><p>"Hey beautiful, why don't I buy you a drink?"</p><p>Jeonghan recoiled in disgust and sprinted towards the staircase.</p><p>He ran all the way to the third floor where he saw a door labelled 'VIP.'</p><p>He knocked on the door and it opened immediately.</p><p>"What is your business?"</p><p>"I-I'm the new recruit."</p><p>The man looked him up and down several times which made him feel quite uncomfortable.</p><p>"Sir he's here" the man finally let Jeonghan in.</p><p>Sitting on the velvet armchair was a broad and built man who had a cigar dangling from his mouth, his face slightly stubbly and his hair glossy and slicked back. He looked like the perfect image of a gang leader.</p><p>"You arrived."</p><p>"Yes, sir."</p><p>"What are your qualifications?"</p><p>"I used to work in the police force, I know their systems and networks. I can make sure they will not find you."</p><p>"Oh really?" The man stood up and walked towards Jeonghan and smirked.</p><p>"And I supposed you think you'll be able to keep my information safe as well, I should share it with you, shouldn't I?" He was now standing to close for comfort.</p><p>Jeonghan stood their frozen, not knowing what to do.</p><p>Suddenly the gang leader grabbed onto his hips and pulled Jeonghan towards him</p><p>The leader reached into his pant pocket and pulled out the recording device.</p><p>"Think you're pretty smart huh? Who sent you pretty boy?"</p><p>Jeonghan didn't speak, certainly Sunghoon would not want his intentions be known.</p><p>"Hm, not going to talk? We'll see about that." The man moved his hold onto Jeonghan's belt.</p><p>Now he was really panicking.</p><p>Jeonghan broke struggled free of his hold and kicked him as hard as he could.</p><p>That angered the leader and he punched him and Jeonghan fell to the floor.</p><p>"You're lucky we're here so I don't want to make a mess, next time I see you I won't be so generous." </p><p>Jeonghan left the nightclub as quickly as he could, barely noticing the blood dripping from his nose.</p><p>He felt scared. Scared about the gang leader's threat and scared what Sunghoon would say when he found out he failed.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>"You idiot!" Sunghoon slapped Jeonghan hard across the face.</p><p>"It was such a simple task and you messed it up! After training you will clean the entire weapons room and you will not sleep until it is spotless."</p><p>Jeonghan nodded with his head down.</p><p>Once Sunghoon left the other boys went to check on Jeonghan.</p><p>They winced when they saw his bloody face.</p><p>"Here Hyung, let's clean you up" Seungkwan took out the first aid kit and began to clean his wounds.</p><p>The boys all sat and watched in silence, all thinking the same thing.</p><p>This was their new reality.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. hurting and suffering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Minghao, please eat something."</p><p>Jun was extremely worried for his friend who had yet to touch his dinner. </p><p>"Just leave me alone."</p><p>"But you haven't eaten all day, you-" Jun then realized that he didn't see Minghao eat yesterday either, or the day before.</p><p>"What's the point? We're going to die here sooner or later, why prolong the process."</p><p>Jun was shocked. Minghao was normally a very optimistic person who didn't believe in giving up. He wondered what happened to him.</p><p>"We're going to get out of here Minghao, just hang in there a little longer."</p><p>"How Junhui? How? We've been here for three weeks, we're hundreds of kilometers away from home, nobody knows where we are, how on earth are we going to get out?"</p><p>That caught Joshua's attention.</p><p>"Minghao, I know things seem difficult right now, but we must try our best to do whatever we can. If there's even a slight chance that we might make it out, isn't it worth the fight?"</p><p>Minghao lowered his head, it seemed Joshua's words had gotten through to him.</p><p>Suddenly his nausea returned, and he rushed to the bathroom and emptied his stomach. But since he hasn't eaten for a long time, what came up was stomach acid and bile, which burned his throat as he vomitted.</p><p>He was in so much pain, he didn't feel like he had to energy to go on, but he thought what Joshua said was right, and so he tried his best to eat his food so that his health could recover a little.</p><p>Just then the members who had gone out for their mission returned, exhausted and trembling.</p><p>They had gone out on a raid, and were attacked as they were leaving but thankfully managed to escape quickly enough.</p><p>Seungcheol immediately flopped on his bed, his ears still ringing from the abundance of gunshots that were being fired at them.</p><p>Jihoon who was frightened to death as a bullet only missed him by a hair was sitting next to Jeonghan trying to calm himself down in his hyung's comforting embrace.</p><p>"Are you guys hurt?" Joshua asked as he watched each member remove their dirtied outer clothes.</p><p>"No, we're not hurt, physically anyway" Hansol replied taking off his shoes. "I think Sunghoon is satisfied though, he seemed quite pleased when we got back."</p><p>They hated that they were serving this wretched man (hate was an understatement) and doing all these dangerous missions, but ironically they had to do it to keep each other and Mingyu safe.</p><p>Speaking of Mingyu, nobody had heard about him since that day. </p><p>They only hoped he was still alive.</p><p>Just then one of Sunghoon's men came in.</p><p>"All of you, to the top floor, now."</p><p>When they arrived, the warehouse seemed more crowded than it had ever been.</p><p>All of Sunghoon's men were there, an enormous tension was in the air.</p><p>Sunghoon emerged and everyone looked at him.</p><p>"Because of the raid tonight, we now have adequate supplies to carry out our next mission. We have been paid a huge sum of money to take down a horde of street gangs in Ulsan. If we succeed this will grant us an alliance with one of the most powerful gangs in Asia. This could be our most important mission yet."</p><p>Sunghoon paced the room, scanning the faces of all his men.</p><p>"You'll be divided into seven groups as there are seven streets to cover. Pack every single weapon, we will leave at dawn."</p><p>Chan, Hansol, and Joshua were put into one group. Jeonghan, Jihoon, and Seungkwan in another. Seungcheol, Jun, Minghao, and Soonyoung were together. And Wonwoo was placed in another group.</p><p>The following morning every single person woke up before the sun rose and loaded as many weapons as they could onto their assigned vehicles.</p><p>Before they took off, the boys all gathered into a group hug.</p><p>As much as it pained them to admit, it could possibly be the last time they would see some of the members so they cherished those few short moments as much as they could, before they were called to leave.</p><p>"Stay safe everyone. I really love you all" Seungcheol said, which made some of the members tear up, but they had to pull themselves together as they would face the most difficult moments of their life.</p><p>It was a one hour drive to Ulsan, and they would pass by a mountainous area.</p><p>So far the trip had been quite smooth, but Sunghoon had ordered each car to have a lookout as he knew that their mission was not a secret.</p><p>Suddenly a loud crash was heard. Jihoon and Seungkwan turned around and saw two cars falling off the edge of a cliff.</p><p>It seems that someone made a poorly executed attack on one of their cars and both ended up falling.</p><p>"No.." said Jeonghan. Jihoon and Seungkwan turned to look at him.</p><p>"That was Wonwoo's car."</p><p>The other two looked at each other in horror.</p><p>"A-are you sure hyung? That can't be, it's not right?" Jihoon asked desparately.</p><p>"It is, I saw the license plate." Jeonghan hid his face as tears rolled down his cheek.</p><p>The three of them huddled against each other, holding onto each other tightly as they mourned the loss of another dear friend.</p><p>Just how many lives were going to be lost?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. body count</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One by one, each of Sunghoon's vehicles arrived in Ulsan.</p><p>Well, except for one of course.</p><p>"There it is. 15th street" said Joshua, hands clenching tightly.</p><p>The man in the driver's seat turned to them.</p><p>"Get out here, split up and check all the back alleys."</p><p>The three of them nodded. They grabbed their guns and got out of the car.</p><p>"Hyung..." Chan grabbed Hansol's arm.</p><p>"What's wrong Chan?"</p><p>"I-I don't want to go alone."</p><p>Hansol saw the fear in Chan's eyes. Of course he was afraid as well, but Chan was downright terrified.</p><p>"It's okay, you can come with me."</p><p>The two of them walked into one of the alleyways.</p><p>It was eerily quiet.</p><p>They went on until they almost reached the end.</p><p>"Guess no one told you never to corner yourself in an alleyway" said a voice behind them.</p><p>Chan and Hansol froze and looked at each other.</p><p>When they turned around they saw five men pointing their guns at them.</p><p>"Why don't you two put your guns down and come with us, it'll be less messy that way" another man said.</p><p>Hansol was about to put down his weapon when he heard a gunshot.</p><p>Chan had fired his gun and taken down one of the men.</p><p>That sent the others into rapid fire.</p><p>They knew they could not beat them by themselves so they looked for an escape route.</p><p>"Chan over here!"</p><p>Hansol reached out his hand and hoisted Chan on top of the wall and they jumped down to the other side.</p><p>"What were you thinking? They outnumber us, we can't just shoot like that!"</p><p>"I-I'm sorry."</p><p>"C'mon let's call for back up."</p><p>They ran around to the other side and saw more men from their group.</p><p>They pointed to where the enemy gang's men were and they all came onto them at once.</p><p>Within seconds the remainder of the opposing men were taken out.</p><p>"Okay, I think this street is cleared, let's head back to the cars" one of Sunghoon's men said.</p><p>"Wait, where's Joshua hyung?" Chan looked to Hansol.</p><p>"I don't know."</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Joshua separated from the rest of the men and went into an alley by himself, which he quickly found was probably not a good decision.</p><p>His heart was racing as he warily walked down the grim looking alleyway.</p><p>He then heard footsteps and his hold on his gun tightened.</p><p>Suddenly a figure emerged from behind a building and Joshua immediately aimed towards them.</p><p>However he gasped in shock when he saw a young boy dressed in ragged clothes in front of him.</p><p>He jumped back and covered his face in fear. "Hyung please don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"</p><p>Joshua immediately dropped his gun and knelt down in front of the boy.</p><p>"Of course I won't kill you. What are you doing here child? Where are your parents?"</p><p>"I don't have any parents, they died a long time ago. I'm all on my own now."</p><p>"What happened to them?"</p><p>"They were shot, by bad people like you."</p><p>"I'm not-"</p><p>"You were just about to kill me weren't you?"</p><p>Joshua looked to the boy with despair.</p><p>He realized how much of his humanity he had lost, that he could even be capable of killing an innocent child.</p><p>Joshua lowered his head. "You're right, I am a bad person."</p><p>"Well then, I should relieve you of your misery shouldn't I?"</p><p>Joshua turned around and saw three men with guns. They smirked at the little boy.</p><p>"Don't hurt him" Joshua put his arm in front of the boy protectively.</p><p>"I think you should worry more about yourself."</p><p>The boy then skipped over and stood behind one of the men, who patted his head.</p><p>Joshua was beyond confused. "I don't understand."</p><p>"What he said was true though, his parents were shot and killed."</p><p>"And you guys won't do the same thing?"</p><p>"Nah, he's under our care now. We'll raise him to be strong and powerful, and then he can take his revenge on whoever he wants."</p><p>Joshua couldn't believe it. How could they do something like this to a young child?</p><p>"Well then, any last words?"</p><p>Joshua took one last glance at the boy, who looked back at him with no expression.</p><p>He shook his head and closed his eyes, preparing for what's to come.</p><p>An ear bleeding gunfire and a stabbing pain in his abdomen and then chest.</p><p>The pain went on for a while, becoming more and more unbearable.</p><p>And then he felt nothing.</p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>"Hurry up! We need to head to the next street!"</p><p>"B-but Joshua's nowhere to be found" said Chan desparately.</p><p>The man in the driver's seat looked at him, and something shifted in his harsh eyes.</p><p>"Look, we'll send some people to look for him, but we really need to get going okay?"</p><p>Chan was surprised to see sympathy coming from the man, it was the first time any of Sunghoon's men showed even an ounce of pity towards them.</p><p>"It's okay Chan, we'll find him" Hansol patted Chan's shoulder trying to reassure him.</p><p>Chan nodded and they took off.</p><p>Jeonghan, Jihoon, and Seungkwan arrived at their street as well.</p><p>"I can't believe he is really gone" said Seungkwan, wiping the tears from his eyes.</p><p>They were then told to exit the car.</p><p>"C'mon Seungkwan, we have to be strong right now" Jihoon spoke in a soft voice, patting his shoulder.</p><p>Seungkwan wiped the last tear and nodded his head. The three of them along with the other men took off into the streets.</p><p>"Hyung watch out!" Jihoon screamed at Jeonghan, who managed to very nearly dodge the bullet fired at him.</p><p>That the attention of the other men and they all ran towards to source of the gunfire.</p><p>With a bit of struggle, they managed to take down most of the opposing gang's men, although some had ran and escaped.</p><p>The few men who were injured limped back to their vehicles, but everyone had survived.</p><p>As they drove off they wondered how the other members were doing.</p><p> </p><p>----------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Gunshots were being fired left and right.</p><p>They probably didn't even know who they were firing at half the time.</p><p>There was only one aim: to kill.</p><p>It appears that most of the gang's men were gathered on this street, as they had been immediately fired at the moment they arrived.</p><p>Jun noticed Minghao standing there, he didn't look too good, he looked like he was about to faint.</p><p>He grabbed onto him and stealthily led them somewhere away from all the shooting.</p><p>"No, I need to be there too, I can't just let you guys die by yourselves."</p><p>"You're in no condition to keep fighting Minghao, you just stay here and let us take care of it."</p><p>Minghao wanted to argue but he realized that Jun was probably right.</p><p>He would definitely not last much longer if he were out there.</p><p>Before Jun left, Minghao grabbed hold of his arm to tell him something.</p><p>"Be careful okay? Make sure Seungcheol and Soonyoung are safe as well."</p><p>Jun nodded and went back out to the street.</p><p>He saw several more cars arrive. It seemed that everyone had been called to this particular street.</p><p>When he caught sight of some of his members he felt more at ease, at least they were okay."</p><p>The gun firings had increased tenfold and men on both sides were being taken down quickly.</p><p>It was an absolute bloodbath.</p><p>Seungcheol suddenly felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around immediately and fired his gun, and the man fell to the ground.</p><p>But when he saw who it was, his heart dropped.</p><p>Jun looked up at him with pained looked, clutching tightly onto his side which was bleeding endlessly.</p><p>Seungcheol stood there, too stunned to move, he couldn't speak, couldn't think.</p><p>The fight seemed to have died down, with only a few people remaining from the opposing gang, who quickly took off when they realized they have lost the battle.</p><p>It was finally silent.</p><p>When the members saw that Jun was on the ground, they quickly rushed over.</p><p>It was then that it hit Seungcheol what had happened.</p><p>He had shot one of his own members, his friend, his brother.</p><p>When they arrived back at the warehouse, all the members gathered around Jun, who laid on the bed as the others wrapped him in bandages.</p><p>It was then that they learned about Wonwoo, and that Joshua was probably dead as well.</p><p>Seungcheol sat on the floor, a few feet away from them.</p><p>He hasn't said a word since they had gotten back.</p><p>Jeonghan glanced at him and then walked over to him.</p><p>"It was an accident Cheol, it wasn't your fault."</p><p>"It was Jeonghan, it was. I looked him right in the eye, I saw his face."</p><p>"But you pulled the trigger before you could even process it, you didn't mean to do it."</p><p>"What if he dies? What if I really kill him?" Seungcheol was trembling, he really would not be able to live with himself if Jun died in his hands.</p><p>"We'll make sure that doesn't happen."</p><p>Soon, Jun had fallen asleep. The members did all they could to treat his wound, and they could only pray that it will suffice.</p><p>It was a tough day for them, they had lost two more members and one was seriously injured.</p><p>Nobody wanted to sleep, but of course their bodies gave out and they eventually fell asleep.</p><p>And once again Chan slipped out of the room.</p><p>It felt like deja vu as he paced those halls.</p><p>"You shouldn't be out here."</p><p>Chan turned around at the voice, it was the driver from their vehicle.</p><p>Strangely, Chan felt no fear at all.</p><p>Everything just felt numb now, and he was no longer afraid of death.</p><p>"How did you get here?" Chan asked him. The man was actually quite young, only a few years older than him.</p><p>The man stared at him with a cold gaze for a while before finally responding to him.</p><p>"My brother and I were kidnapped, just like you and your members. </p><p>Five years ago, we were just normal people living normal lives.</p><p>But my father had been doing some illegal business and had connections with Sunghoon and other mafias.</p><p>He owed them a lot of money, and so they killed him and took me and my brother.</p><p>After four months, my brother was killed by Sunghoon because he tried to escape."</p><p>Chan saw so much pain in his eyes, completely different from his usual stone face.</p><p>"Don't you want to escape too?" Chan asked.</p><p>The man shook his head. "There is nothing for me in this world, I have nothing to go back to. I'm not like you guys, I don't have a career, or a family, or friends. This is my life."</p><p>Chan looked down, he didn't know what to say.</p><p>"Your friend, he's not going to make it."</p><p>Chan looked at him again. "What?"</p><p>"He lost too much blood, he'll die very soon."</p><p>That made Chan very upset, he turned around and headed back to their room.</p><p>He stood next to Jun's bed, he was sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling.</p><p>He didn't want to believe what the man said, but a part of him told him it was probably the truth.</p><p>Chan looked at his hyung's sleeping figure, he looked so peaceful.</p><p>He sat on the ground and laid his head on the bed next to Jun, and soon he fell asleep too.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. we're in this together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chan woke up the to cries of panic from his members.</p><p>He lifted his head and looked to see what they were all focusing on.</p><p>And what he saw would haunt him for the rest of his life.</p><p>Jun's open, unmoving eyes staring straight at him.</p><p>His skin had become discoloured, his cheeks were hollow, and his gaze was empty.</p><p>Chan winced at the sight and closed his eyes, he couldn't bear to look anymore.</p><p>Of course everyone was distraught, but Seungcheol was absolutely <em>devastated.</em></p><p>He felt like he was gonna go crazy.</p><p>He knelt at the bedside and weeped and begged for his friend to forgive him.</p><p>The next few days were hard for the boys, spirits were lower than ever.</p><p>They had lost three more friends so suddenly, it didn't even feel real.</p><p>Sometimes they would wake up and forget that their friend was dead and call out to them like it was any other day, only to be met with silence and painful reminder that they were already gone.</p><p>All of these emotions led to their physical health declining as well.</p><p>And Minghao, who was already so weak and lithe looked like a shell of a human being, like he was only an illusion and did not exist on this earth.</p><p>Time seemed to go on without them.</p><p>Whenever they were called by Sunghoon to do something dangerous, they wouldn't even bat an eye.</p><p>For some they subconsciously wished that they would die during one of these tasks, for life had become nothing but a series of agony and sorrow.</p><p>One morning the boys were doing training in the gym.</p><p>Somehow Soonyoung's shirt got caught in one of the machines and ripped.</p><p>"Shit. I don't have another clean shirt."</p><p>"I have one under my pillow, you can wear that one" said Jeonghan.</p><p>Soonyoung headed back to their sleeping area and searched for the shirt.</p><p>After he changed, he caught sight on something on the bedside table.</p><p>A gun he had used on a raid the previous night.</p><p>It was almost as if it lured him in, like the spindle had lured sleeping beauty.</p><p>He picked it up and ran his hands along the cold metal finish. </p><p>He looked down and the gun in his hands, switching the safety on and off.</p><p><em>Just one shot.</em> He thought.</p><p>He knew that he wasn't thinking straight, but he couldn't care less at this point.</p><p>Soonyoung pointed the gun to his chest, straight into his heart.</p><p>"What the fuck are you doing?!" </p><p>Soonyoung dropped the gun, and it shattered on the floor.</p><p>"Are you out of your mind?!" Jihoon stormed up to him and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "If I catch you doing that one more time, I will hate you forever."</p><p>Suddenly Soonyoung broke into tears, and Jihoon let go of his shirt, his fierce eyes softening.</p><p>"I can't do it anymore, Jihoon! I... just can't."</p><p>Jihoon grabbed onto his shoulders. "Listen to me, we will get through this, and even if we don't we won't go down without a fight. We will not be cowards and take our own lives. Think about Jun, Joshua, Wonwoo, and Seokmin. What would they think if they knew you gave up like this?"</p><p>Soonyoung struggled to catch his breath as more tears ran down his face.</p><p>Jihoon sighed. "I know you Kwon Soonyoung, you are not someone who surrenders. Think about how far you've come, it would be a pity if you quit now."</p><p>Soonyoung wiped his last tears and Jihoon pulled him in for a hug.</p><p>Suddenly he heard Soonyoung giggling which surprised him and he pulled back from the hug.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"It's the first time you've initiated a hug" he said smiling.</p><p>Jihoon rolled his eyes and smiled back. "Whatever, let's go."</p><p>What they didn't know was that Chan was standing outside the door, listening in on their conversation.</p><p>He was totally freaked out when he thought that Soonyoung was going to shoot himself, and was so thankful that Jihoon intervened just in time.</p><p>Soonyoung explained to the others what had just happened and everyone was shocked.</p><p>From that moment everyone sweared that they would tell each other whatever was on their minds, and that they would take care of their health as best they could.</p><p>Soon night had fallen, and Chan was having trouble sleeping once again.</p><p>He sat up on his bed and looked around at his sleeping members.</p><p>His eyes then landed on the four empty beds across from him.</p><p>He missed them so much. </p><p>It seemed like it was only yesterday that they were all pulling each other out of bed for dance practice, pumping each other up before a concert, or laughing their lungs out playing a game.</p><p>He thought about how none of that will happen ever again, and that even if they do manage to get out, nothing will be the same ever again.</p><p>The more he thought about it the more it tore him apart.</p><p>It felt suffocating to stay in that room, so he left.</p><p>By now Chan had figured out where he could go without facing consequences.</p><p>He went inside a storage room that was chock-full of wooden crates and carboard boxes.</p><p>He climbed on top of a stack of boxes and stared out the window in the ceiling.</p><p>It was a full moon that night.</p><p>He leaned his head on the window and breathed deeply.</p><p>Suddenly he felt the glass on the window shift.</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>He used a bit more force and pushed on the glass until it came off completely.</p><p>He reached his arm out and felt the breeze make contact with his skin.</p><p>"Oh my God" his eyes widened as he thought of an idea.</p><p>He got up and ran to where the others were.</p><p>"Guys, get up come on!" he whisper shouted.</p><p>The other members did not seem to want to move as they shifted around and mumbled incoherently.</p><p>"C'mon I found a way out!"</p><p>That caught the other's attention, and they sat up almost immediately.</p><p>"What? You found a way out?" asked Seungkwan.</p><p>Chan nodded, "Follow me."</p><p>They followed him to the storage room and Chan showed them the window.</p><p>It was a small window, but they could probably each fit through it if they tried.</p><p>"I don't know Chan, it seems a bit risky" said Seungcheol.</p><p>"But hyung, this is really our best chance."</p><p>"What about Mingyu?"</p><p>"We'll get the police to come here and look for him as soon as we get to the city."</p><p>"Where will we even know where to go? We have no idea where we are."</p><p>"Do you see that light in the distance? That's probably a farmer that lives there, they can help us get to the city."</p><p>Chan did his best to persuade them.</p><p>His hyungs all seemed uncertain about this plan.</p><p>"I don't think we'll get another chance, maybe we really should do this" said Jihoon.</p><p>The others looked hesitant but they all agreed eventually.</p><p>"Then we haven't a moment to lose, once we're out there it's go or die" said Seungcheol.</p><p>One by one they each slid out through the window.</p><p>Chan surveyed his surroundings and he could not see any of Sunghoon's men outside the warehouse.</p><p>"Do you see that light?" Chan pointed to it, "We all run to that."</p><p>He took a deep breath, he could hear the pounding hearts all around him.</p><p>"Three..."</p><p>"Two..."</p><p>"One."</p><p>At the same time, they all took off and ran like they've never ran before.</p><p>No matter how exhausted they got, they kept running, even if it fell like their legs would give out, they kept going.</p><p>Suddenly, Minghao collapsed on the ground.</p><p>Seungcheol noticed and ran over to him.</p><p>"Get on my back."</p><p>"I-I'll just slow you down."</p><p>"I said get on my fucking back!" he yelled.</p><p>Minghao complied and got on Seungcheol's back.</p><p>They kept running and running and to the light they got closer and closer.</p><p>It really seemed like there was hope, until...</p><p>"Seungkwan!" Jihoon shouted. That made everyone halt.</p><p>Seungkwan stood still for a few seconds before he fell to the ground.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. it's not your fault</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Seungkwan!"</p><p>Everyone ran to where Seungkwan was.</p><p>He was passed out and unmoving on the ground, his blood staining the grass around him.</p><p>Bright lights started to encircle them, and in a matter of seconds they were completely surrounded by vehicles.</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>"Think you're pretty smart huh?"</p><p>Once they were pulled back to the warehouse, they were brought to a dark and grim room in the basement, one they had never seen before.</p><p>Sunghoon stood there in front of them, gun in hand. The boys stood in a line with their backs to the wall and their heads down.</p><p>They were genuinely terrified.</p><p>"So you think you could easily escape like that. I guess you just don't learn your lesson."</p><p>Sunghoon pointed his gun at Jihoon and shot him straight in the chest and then once more in the head.</p><p>The other members bit their tongue trying not to say a word, as they feared it would result in another one dead.</p><p>"Go to sleep and show up for training tomorrow" said Sunghoon.</p><p>The boys left the room one by one, their hearts broke as they walked past Jihoon's body on the cold concrete floor.</p><p>When they got back to the room each person sat silently on their own bed.</p><p>Seungkwan had been dragged away from them while they were being brought back, but they could only assume the worst.</p><p>It all just happened so fast.</p><p>It's astonishing how quickly someone can be taken away from you.</p><p>"It's all my fault" said Chan in between his sobs, "It's because of me that they're dead."</p><p>Jeonghan went to sit next to him and pulled him into a tight hug.</p><p>"It's not your fault, Chan. I promise, it's not your fault."</p><p>Chan cried harder, the others looked at them, their hearts in just as much pain.</p><p>Soonyoung thought to a few days ago, when Jihoon had caught him right before he was about to shoot himself.</p><p>If it wasn't for Jihoon, he very well could be dead right now.</p><p>He wish he could have been the one that was shot instead.</p><p>They cried until dawn, and with bloodshot eyes they went to the training room.</p><p>Chan couldn't think straight, he couldn't stop thinking about Jihoon and Seungkwan, and how they'd be alive and with them right now.</p><p>He couldn't take it anymore. He yelled and punched the wall next to him several times until his knuckles bled.</p><p>Seungcheol grabbed onto his fist. </p><p>"That's enough" he looked him in the eye. "Follow me."</p><p>Chan followed Seungcheol to the shooting range.</p><p>"Let it out Chan-ah."</p><p>"I... I blame myself for their death. They could have been alive hyung, if it wasn't for me and my foolishness, they could've still been alive."</p><p>Seungcheol listened to him as he vented all his thoughts.</p><p>"I understand how you feel. Actually, I really blamed myself a lot for Jun's death, so much I thought I'd go insane."</p><p>"Yeah, that's exactly how it feels, like my mind is going to burst."</p><p>"Mhm. I still feel guilty about it and I think about all I could've done to prevent it from happening."</p><p>"But hyung, you didn't mean to hurt him, you would never hurt him."</p><p>"And you would never want anything bad to happen to Seungkwan or Jihoon, it was out of your control. You were just thinking what was best for us. Some tragic things in life just cannot be prevented, and even if they could've there's no way you could have foreseen it. So please, don't blame yourself for what happened. None of us blame you."</p><p>Chan nodded, he felt a little more reassured.</p><p>There was still the stabbing pain of loss, but at least now there wasn't the added guilt.</p><p>A few hours later the boys were having their afternoon meal.</p><p>Minghao tried to eat, but his cyclic vomiting syndrome had returned after the death of even more members.</p><p>He looked pale and weak.</p><p>"Minghao, maybe you should lie down for a bit" said Jeonghan.</p><p>Minghao nodded and stood up, he was shaking as he was walking and collapsed once he made it to the bed.</p><p>The others looked to him with worry, his health had been declining rapidly.</p><p>Just then, a man showed up at their door.</p><p>"Seungcheol and Jeonghan, go to the weapons room."</p><p>They knew that meant Sunghoon was going to get them to do something dangerous again.</p><p>Before they walked out, Chan grabbed them both by the arm.</p><p>"Please come back, I don't want this to be the last time I see you" he was on the verge of tears.</p><p>His two hyungs embraced him in a hug and reassured him that they would return.</p><p>"We will come back Chan, don't worry" said Seungcheol.</p><p>"But what if you don't? I-I can't lose you guys."</p><p>Jeonghan patted his hair. "If we don't you can scold us all you want."</p><p>Chan understood that they really didn't have a choice, and reluctantly let go of them.</p><p>"Be careful."</p><p>They nodded. "We will."</p><p>And with that they left the room.</p><p>Chan watched them walk down the hallway until he couldn't see them anymore.</p><p>Soonyoung came up behind him and put his arm on his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm really worried hyung."</p><p>"They'll be okay."</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>Seungcheol and Jeonghan arrived in the weapons room and saw Sunghoon and his men loading up their guns.</p><p>"What are we supposed to do?" asked Seungcheol.</p><p>"A crippled old gang leader owes me a lot of money, so you're gonna be the hitmen to take him down."</p><p>They gulped. The last time they had to take out a gang, things didn't end too well.</p><p>After an hour car drive they parked in the back alley near the gang's supposed headquarters.</p><p>Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and two other men broke in through the back door.</p><p>Two guys from the other gang spotted them and aimed their guns, but Seungcheol shot both of them down almost instantly.</p><p>They made their way to the staircase, but by this time many of the men already knew about their intrusion.</p><p>"Jeonghan, go! We'll handle it here."</p><p>Jeonghan nodded and went up the stairs.</p><p>He could hear gunshots close by, probably from the brawling between Sunghoon's men and the gang.</p><p>He stealthily made his way past the shooting zone and out of sight.</p><p>Finally he found the gang leader's office.</p><p>He looked behind for backup and saw Seungcheol and some more of Sunghoon's men making their way to where he was.</p><p>"Jeonghan look out!" yelled Seungcheol.</p><p>But before Jeonghan could turn around, he felt a sharp, searing pain in his back.</p><p>"Looking for someone?" said a voice behind him.</p><p>Jeonghan turned around and saw the gang leader staring straight at him and then shot the men that were coming at him.</p><p>Seungcheol managed to get behind him and fired his gun.</p><p>The gang leader collapsed in an instant.</p><p>Seungcheol hurried over to Jeonghan who had a knife sticking out of his back.</p><p>"Stay with me Jeonghan-ah!" he pressed his jacket onto the wound to prevent more blood from spilling.</p><p>Jeonghan's eyes fluttered open and close, and his breathing grew rapid.</p><p>"I... I can't... I feel so... tired." And then he fell unconscious.</p><p>Seungcheol felt for his pulse, crying and begging for it not to stop.</p><p>"Please... hang on."</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. don't leave me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gunshots were being fired all around them, but Seungcheol couldn't hear any of it.</p><p>The only sound he paid attention to was the beating of Jeonghan's heart.</p><p>He grabbed his friend's hand and squeezed it. "Just hang on for a little longer."</p><p>"We're leaving!" shouted one of Sunghoon's men.</p><p>It seemed that they were able to immobilize most of the enemy gang's men so they left.</p><p>Seungcheol picked up Jeonghan and ran outside with the others.</p><p>But when they got outside, they were immediately shot at.</p><p>Hordes of men came at them.</p><p>"The fuck? Where did these people come from?!"</p><p>"They must have headquarters elsewhere, just get to the car!"</p><p>But that would prove to be more difficult than they thought.</p><p>"Listen up!" shouted on of the men from the other gang.</p><p>Everyone stopped firing and listened to what he had to say.</p><p>"We would be more than happy to spare all of your lives, if you turn in the one that killed our leader."</p><p>Seungcheol didn't even have to think twice. "I killed him, if it is me you want then I will come with you."</p><p>The other men looked at him in shock.</p><p>"Good choice."</p><p>Seungcheol placed Jeonghan inside one of the cars and looked at his face one more time.</p><p>"I'm sorry" he whispered.</p><p>Seungcheol was then grabbed by the arms and shoved into one of the other gang's vehicles.</p><p>Jeonghan did not have the strength to speak, but he heard everything that was happening.</p><p>A tear slid down his face, he forgot about the knife in his back and the blood that continued to spill.</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>The boys were getting ready for bed.</p><p>Chan sat on his bed staring at the door, waiting for his two hyungs to emerge from behind it.</p><p>But with each passing moment his hopefulness diminished.</p><p>He checked the time, it was almost midnight.</p><p>Just as he was about to give up hope, the door suddenly swung open.</p><p>All the boys focused their attention towards it, expecting Jeonghan and Seungcheol to walk in exhaustedly.</p><p>But instead it was one of Sunghoon's men.</p><p>He seemed to have felt the anticipation of the boys, as he seemed a bit regretful.</p><p>"I suppose you all want to know the state of your friends."</p><p>The boys nodded, their hearts racing with anxiety.</p><p>"Seungcheol turned himself in for killing the gang leader, so he's good as dead. And Jeonghan got stabbed, he suffered from hypovolemic shock on the way back due to blood loss."</p><p>The man then closed the door and left them alone.</p><p>The boys were shocked.</p><p>Chan immediately broke down. "I knew it! I knew they would die! Everybody's dying and leaving, why can't this just stop!"</p><p>Soonyoung came up to him and hugged him tight, his own tears staining his shirt.</p><p>Hansol and Minghao also came over, and the four boys grasped onto each other tightly, fearing that if they let go, another dear brother would leave them.</p><p>Each passing moment was like a ticking time bomb, death waiting at the door to claim their next victim.</p><p>It was not a matter of who, but a matter of who went first.</p><p>A couple days later, Minghao approached them with a proposal. </p><p>"Guys, maybe we should just... let them kill us."</p><p>The others looked at him in shock.</p><p>"Don't give up now hyung, we'll get through it."</p><p>"Hansol, look around you."</p><p>And he did, he looked at all the empty beds that once belonged to his members, now they were barren.</p><p>He walked up to one that was next to him, the one that used to belong to Seungkwan.</p><p>He put a hand on the covers, he could still feel his best friend's presence on the sheets.</p><p>"Don't you see? There's no point anymore, eventually we will all be killed off. It may happen next week, or it may happen tomorrow. But none of us will make it out alive. I don't want to see any of you die."</p><p>"How is it any better if we kill ourselves now?" Hansol turned to him.</p><p>"So the suffering will end quicker, so we won't have to live in hell anymore."</p><p>"But what if there's a chance that we do survive? Won't you regret it?"</p><p>Minghao looked down, he thought about what Hansol said, but he already made up his mind.</p><p>"If you guys won't go then I'll go myself." Minghao turned to leave.</p><p>The others panicked and ran to him, begging him not to go.</p><p>But Minghao was very persistent, and even with his weakened body, he was able to pull away from them.</p><p>"Hyung!" shouted Hansol, his voice echoed and shook the room.</p><p>Finally Minghao turned around.</p><p>Hansol walked up to him and grabbed his shoulders, his desperate gaze sent a chill down Minghao's spine.</p><p>"Don't leave me, please."</p><p>Minghao looked at him, his heart almost broke.</p><p>He realized what he was doing was too cruel.</p><p>He pulled Hansol into a hug, and the younger cried in his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sorry Hansol, I won't do it again."</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. irony</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seungcheol woke up with a terrible headache and a tight sensation in his chest.</p><p>He looked at his surroundings.</p><p>He was in what looked like a basement, tied to a chair, nobody around.</p><p>To his surprise he was not killed as soon as he got there.</p><p>He was kept prisoner for several days. The gang members asked him where Sunghoon's current headquarters was, and he wouldn't tell them for fear that his members would get hurt.</p><p>When he didn't talk, they would use all sorts of cruel and sadistic torture methods on him.</p><p>He tried to fight back once, which led to him being brutally beaten up and knocked out.</p><p>Now that he regained his consciousness, he knew he had to do something, anything, to try to escape.</p><p>First he tried to free himself from the rope.</p><p>It was difficult, but after much struggling he was surprisingly able to break free.</p><p>He found the staircase, but the door at the top was unmoving.</p><p>He threw his body on the door, attempting to smash it down.</p><p>On the fifth try the door latch finally broke.</p><p>He could hear shouting and rapid footsteps from upstairs, and looked around frantically for the exit.</p><p>It was dark, and the building was large and complex.</p><p>Suddenly he hear voices getting closer and dashed under a desk that was nearby, holding his breath as the footsteps passed him.</p><p>"Where is he?"</p><p>"He couldn't have gotten far, keep looking!"</p><p>Seungcheol put his hand to his heart, it was beating at a blistering pace.</p><p>He listened carefully underneath the desk, it was too dark too see anything.</p><p>He waited for the moment when he could slip out and find his escape.</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>"Why are we being sent again? I thought this gang was already dealt with."</p><p>"Apparently they found another headquarter location."</p><p>"Geez" Hansol leaned back in his seat, "I guess Sunghoon really wants them gone."</p><p>Just then the car stopped. </p><p>"We're here, everyone get out."</p><p>Hansol and Soonyoung followed the others inside.</p><p>They heard voices and running from inside the building, it seems they were dealing with another situation at the moment.</p><p>"What's going on hyung? We just got here, there shouldn't be this much of a commotion already."</p><p>"I don't know, maybe they're dealing with something else."</p><p>"Then wouldn't it be a bad idea if we go in now?"</p><p>Before Soonyoung could answer, another man caught their attention.</p><p>"You two, main floor, now."</p><p>Hansol and Soonyoung went to the main floor of the building. It was surprisingly a lot quieter, most of the mayhem was going on upstairs.</p><p>"Where is the light switch? I can't see a thing" whispered Soonyoung.</p><p>"Nevermind that now, just keep your ears peeled."</p><p>Soonyoung carefully trudged through the hallway, it was frightening with the little to no vision and eerie quietness.</p><p>Suddenly he heard a shuffling noise from under a desk, his defense instincts acted up immediately and he shot at whatever, whoever was under there.</p><p>After five shots he assumed that they were dead. He heard Hansol coming from behind him.</p><p>"What happened hyung?"</p><p>"I heard a noise from under that desk."</p><p>"Come on, I don't think there's anyone here, we should head up."</p><p>"Alright."</p><p>An hour later, they managed to take down what was remaining of the gang and headed back.</p><p>As soon as Soonyoung and Hansol returned, Chan ran into their arms and hugged them tight.</p><p>"You're back! I was so worried."</p><p>"We're okay Chan" Hansol patted his back.</p><p>"Were you successful?" asked Minghao.</p><p>"Yeah, they should be taken care of now."</p><p>"Uh Chan?" </p><p>Chan had not yet let go of them. </p><p>"Oh, sorry."</p><p>"Look, he really loves us!" said Soonyoung. </p><p>"Yeah right, I'm just glad you aren't dead."</p><p>"Aww what a sweet dongsaeng you are." Soonyoung pinched his cheek and Hansol messed with his hair.</p><p>"Cut it out guys" Chan said while suppressing his laughter.</p><p>Minghao laughed (well, giggled) for the first time in three months.</p><p>It had been so long since they had heard laughter, and for just a moment everything felt normal.</p><p>But soon enough, reality would catch up to them and the laughing stopped as quickly as it came.</p><p>"C'mon guys, we should get to sleep. We have our skills evaluation tomorrow" said Soonyoung.</p><p>The others nodded and went to sleep.</p><p>A few hours later, the boys were awoken by a loud thud on their door.</p><p>"Get up all of you! And meet at the training hall in ten!"</p><p>Hansol rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. "It's 4:30 in the morning."</p><p>"C'mon, we don't want to show up late."</p><p>Chan groaned as he dragged himself out of bed.</p><p>"Hyung?" Hansol looked to Minghao.</p><p>He looked extremely pale, his eyes had dark circles around them. His nausea had relapsed and it was taking a toll on his health.</p><p>"You don't look so good hyung, are you sure you'll be okay?"</p><p>"Don't worry Hansol, I'll be fine." But he was doubting his own words as he shakily got out of bed.</p><p>He tried his best to hide the true extent of his weakening health, not wanting to worry the other members.</p><p>Soon the boys made it to the training hall where the other men all stood in line.</p><p>"Today is your skills evaluation" said Sunghoon, "You will be tested in physical ability as well as weapons handling. Those who do not pass will be doing extra training afterwards."</p><p>The evaluation began. First was a series of basic physical exercises, followed by a specialized obstacle course, and fist fighting sparring. </p><p>The weapons portion included using multiple different weapons and firing them at a target, then a moving target .</p><p>It was an excruciating event, everyone was worked to the brink.</p><p>"The majority of you have passed, however there are a few inadequate performances and will be doing extra training right away."</p><p>Sunghoon called out the people that did not pass and Minghao was one of them.</p><p>Hansol looked at Minghao, all the colour in his skin had disappeared, and he looked like he could collapse at any moment.</p><p>"Wait, Minghao can't do it, he's sick!" </p><p>Sunghoon turned to Hansol and gave him a deathly glare.</p><p>"What was that?"</p><p>"Hansol, stop" said Minghao, but Hansol didn't listen.</p><p>"Look at him, if he trains any more he's going to die!"</p><p>"And how is that my problem? What I need is competent and able men, and if he cannot do that then his fate will be death."</p><p>Hansol clenched his fists, he never felt angrier than to hear Sunghoon belittling a human life, a life that was so kind and purposeful.</p><p>Minghao walked over to the training place, he looked back at Hansol and gave him a small, sad smile.</p><p>"That man is sickening" Hansol said as soon as they got back to their room.</p><p>"Of course he is, and yet we are serving him."</p><p>"We don't have a choice you guys" said Soonyoung.</p><p>"I'm just really worried about Minghao hyung."</p><p>"Me too" said Chan, "he looked really ill this morning."</p><p>The boys sat in their rooms for the next couple hours, trying to do anything to distract their minds.</p><p>"I'm back." Minghao appeared behind the door.</p><p>"Minghao!" They all ran to him and attacked him with hugs.</p><p>"Wait guys, we should let Minghao rest" said Soonyoung.</p><p>They helped him over to his bed and he fell asleep almost as soon as he laid down.</p><p>They all breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>"Stay strong, Xu Minghao."</p><p> </p><p>------------------------------------------------------------------------</p><p> </p><p>"Everyone is ready sir, we are good to go."</p><p>"Good, make sure to have at least two vehicles on every route, we want the entire premises surrounded."</p><p>"Yes sir."</p><p>"It's time you meet your end, Kim Sunghoon."</p><p> </p>
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